Workshop >>
Tyco 4-4-0 "General"
This
kit came to me as a kid from one of my relatives as a hand-me-down.
The kit was partially built and in generally good shape. Not being
one for complex kits, after painting them black I basically took the
frame, drivers, pilot, cab and tender and put them into my modeled
"junk yard". I never really did anything else with it. Until
recently.

When I decided that I'd like to model the Maryland & Pennsylvania
RR*I started to look at what I had and see if there was a way to save
some money in the motive power arena. The MA&PA had a couple 4-4-0's,
but the boiler and detailing were way different than this Tyco model.
Luckily, Cary
Locomotive Works makes a cast
replacement boiler(*Scroll down to page 9 of the
PDF), called "Pittsburgh type", for this model
and Bowser still carries
it. The boiler is Item #13-32, Pittsburgh 4-4-0 Conversion Boiler
Kit for Mantua General Drive, $29.95 & the superdetail kit is
#13-510, For use on Cary Pittsburg 4-4-0, $20.95. After taking careful
inventory of the Tyco kit, I am missing one TINY bolt for one of the
side rods. When I find that I can proceed with this kitbash.

* Note: This was a few years ago. I've since started modeling
the B&O RR.

Here is the original
box, and all the parts as I've sorted them.

A closeup on
all the parts. I cleaned them up really good after years of being
in "the junkyard". They had glue and foam and all sorts
of dust. Everything seems to be in good order now.